About The Nationwide E-Invoicing Initiative
IMDA implemented the nationwide E-invoicing network in 2019 to help businesses improve efficiency, reduce cost, enjoy faster digital payment, and stay green at the same time. As one of the leading e-invoicing solution providers, this network is an extension of the International Peppol E-Delivery Network allowing businesses to transact internationally with other linked companies.
Highlight on Key Milestones
- IMDA became the first Peppol Authority outside of Europe in May 2018
- The nationwide E-invoicing network was launched in January 2019, with 11 Access Point providers ready to serve the market
- The Peppol Ready solution accreditation was created in 2019 and more than 50 Peppol-Solution providers were successfully connected to the network by January 2020
- The Singapore government added a new channel for suppliers to submit e-invoices via the nationwide E-invoicing network in January 2020 and has since become the preferred channel for suppliers
- The E-Invoicing Registration Grant was announced in March 2020 to incentivise businesses to join the network before 31 December 2020.
- The nationwide E-invoicing network was renamed as InvoiceNow in September 2020
Peppol Authority
Peppol Framework and OpenPeppol
IMDA's nationwide E-invoicing network is built on the established Peppol framework to support exchange of business documents electronically and is used in many countries. OpenPeppol is the non-profit international association in charge of development and maintenance of the Peppol specifications. OpenPeppol delegates the authority over the implementation and use of Peppol specifications to the local Peppol Authorities. For more information of Peppol, please visit https://www.peppol.eu.
IMDA as the Peppol Authority
IMDA is the first Peppol Authority outside of Europe. As the Peppol Authority in Singapore, IMDA’s functions include the following:
- Approving and certifying Peppol Access Point providers in Singapore;
- Accrediting Peppol-ready Solution Providers in Singapore;
- Specifying country-specific rules and technical standards under the Peppol framework in Singapore, in particular, the SG Peppol BIS specifications;
- Governing the compliance of the Peppol framework in Singapore; and
- Promoting the adoption of Peppol framework in Singapore.
SMP in Singapore
IMDA has adopted a centralised Service Metadata Publisher (SMP) model in Singapore and has appointed SGNIC as the SMP provider in Singapore. For more information on the SMP in Singapore, please visit https://www.sgnic.sg/smp.html.
Peppol Framework
In Singapore today, most companies (sellers) issue invoices by extracting the data from their accounting/ERP systems and formatting it in human-readable form and sending it to the buyers via paper or email.
At the receiving end (buyer), manual effort is required to enter or scan the information into their systems which is a time-consuming and error-prone process.
The Nationwide E-Invoicing Network adopts the Peppol framework which allows direct transmission of e-invoices from one finance system to another without human intervention, speeding up invoice processing which results in faster digital payment. This greatly reduces the time spent verifying invoices and chasing for payment.
In the Peppol network, documents are exchanged using a common XML format known as the BIS (Business Interoperability Specifications) Billing 3.0 UBL. This common standard allows users to choose their preferred accounting and ERP platforms while being able to exchange invoices with their partners who may not be using the same platform. Documents are exchanged through Access Points, which serve as gateways into the Peppol network. Access Points take up the responsibility of mapping invoices of various formats into the standard format and sending them to the receiving Access Points through the Peppol network.
The Peppol network works based on a principle of a 4-corner model., illustrated above. In a transaction, the seller’s objective is to successfully send an invoice to the accounting/ERP system of the buyer. Regardless of invoice format, documents that are sent out by the seller (corner 1) will be converted into the common standard at its Access Point (corner 2). The global directory will provide the necessary information to corner 2 to identify the receiving Access Point (corner 3) for the e-invoice to be sent through the network. Upon receiving the e-invoice, corner 3 will map the e-invoice into the preferred format of the buyer (corner 4).
This network allows businesses to use the Accounting/ERP solution of their choice, connect once and connect to all.
Find Your Buyer/Supplier On The Network
You can search for other businesses on the SG Peppol Directory by visiting this site https://www.peppoldirectory.sg. This site provides online search capabilities, batch checking of businesses and API access for businesses who wish to automate their process. Watch the video guide below:
Note: The Peppol global directory is also available at https://directory.peppol.eu/
Become an E-invoicing Service Provider
The E-Invoicing network is served by service providers that meet a variety of business needs. E-invoicing Service Providers who are interested to become an IMDA pre-approved Solution Provider or Access Point Provider can find out more about the pre-approval process below:
Peppol Technical Playbook
A curated list of digital resources related to the Peppol E-Delivery Network. Click here to access the following resources:
- SG BIS 3.0 Specifications
- SG Peppol Directory
- Important Notes on SG BIS 3.0
- How to send a test e-Invoice
- Transacting with Partners
- Sending E-Invoices to Government
- Validex Tool
FAQ
Please refer to the E-Invoicing FAQ (159.52KB).
Contact Us
For more information and clarification, please email us at einvoice@imda.gov.sg
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